


The Best Start To 2021

by Pick_Your_Poison



Category: GOT7
Genre: Angst, Crying, Fluff, M/M, New Years Eve party, New Years countdown, Side!2Jae, Side!Jinson, lots of alcohol mentioned, lots of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28452504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pick_Your_Poison/pseuds/Pick_Your_Poison
Summary: Yugyeom's love life has him feeling bitter and cynical rather than excited about the New Year...
Relationships: Kim Yugyeom/Mark Tuan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	The Best Start To 2021

Yugyeom glared at the sparkling decorations with contempt, the large black and gold streamers covering every inch of ceiling seemed to mock him as he leant against the kitchen counter downing yet another glass of something that burnt the back of his throat. There was a jingle of a beaded curtain followed by a loud, “UHHHH” created by Youngjae who walked straight past Yugyeom and headbutted the fridge before letting out a loud sigh. “What now?” Yugyeom asked, rolling his eyes miserably as he slowly poured more alcohol into his glass, ignoring the slight shake to his hand.

“Him and Jinyoung are arguing…. Again!” Youngjae whined taking Yugyeom’s glass off of the table and downing it in one gulp, “That wasn’t for you!” he muttered as Youngjae slammed the glass back down onto the side, “You’ve got time to drink more!” Youngjae whined back as Yugyeom refilled the glass. “And you don’t?” Yugyeom teased smirking as he took a large swig on his drink, cringing slightly at the sour taste, “No, I have to babysit my stupid boyfriend” Youngjae announced before flouncing out the room, crossing his arms sassily. As one annoyed friend left another entered, Bambam stalked forward, his cheeks flushed red and eyelashes still damp.

“What’s wrong?” Yugyeom asked as his best friends head collided with his shoulder, Bambam murmured something in response that got lost in the loud screaming coming from the other room. “Say that again” Yugyeom asked rubbing at his forehead in exhaustion, “I want to be at home” Bambam whined, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke, “I know” Yugyeom said sighing deeply as he lifted a hand to rub at Bambam’s back sweetly. “I know” he repeated as the sniffles came to a stop and Bambam stood upright, nearly matching Yugyeom’s height this year, “I know I always get homesick this time of year but with James out there too…. This just sucks” he whimpered.

There was a loud cheer, followed by the sound of clapping as Jinyoung entered the kitchen grabbing each boy by the hand and dragging them out to celebrate with everyone else. Youngjae and Jackson had obviously had enough of their boyfriends behaviour and were playing Mario Kart together on the sofa, Mark was sat at the dining table, there were cards strewn across the dining room table, the remnants of the game of poker they had played earlier. He had one headphone in, eyes glossy as he sat fixated on the screen, blissfully unaware of everything happening around him, Yugyeom envied that about him, he just switched off so easily.

Jinyoung and Bambam were doing a random dance challenge, every twenty seconds the song changed and the two would scramble to change positions, knocking into each other and laughing boisterously as they bounced off each other like excited toddlers. Jaebeom… well Jaebeom seemed to be brooding. Sat with his dark hair hanging over his eyes and a glass of something brown in his hand that he seemed to only be pretending to drink, his eyes always drifting off to the other side of the room every time a certain someone, with a very unique laugh would cackle.

Yugyeom dropped down onto the sofa beside him, quietly sipping on his own drink thankful for the silence, if he had gone home he would have been bombarded with questions about his non existent love life and he wasn’t sure he could tackle those with a brave face any longer. Being single sucked, trying to date sucked, being the only one in your friendship group to be single sucked even harder. Even on nights like this, when their usually larger than life Bambam has been reduced to a tearful mess, he is envious that his heart is so full that it actually _hurts_ to miss someone. When Youngjae would rather bang his head against the wall than argue with Jaebeom, he is reminded that real relationships aren’t perfect and that sometimes your partner will drive you mad, but you will love them too much to say anything and he wants that, he wants that more than he can fathom.

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘oh they bring out the best in each other?’, Yugyeom had heard his mother and aunties use it all the time but he never understood what it meant until Jinyoung and Jackson started dating, they just _excelled_ whenever they were together, working like a well oiled machine in all aspects of life. Yugyeom wanted that more than anything, to find his last piece, to feel complete. Mark…. Well thus far, Mark had taught him that not all relationships mean forever and that love, and commitment are not an exclusive package. Yugyeom had scrunched his nose up in disgust when they had discussed it previously, he wasn’t sure if it was the hopeless romantic within him or if it was just hearing about his hyung’s sex life that he didn’t like but at this point even having an ‘arrangement’ like Mark would be better than having nothing. Especially on New Year’s Eve. When you are surrounded by your loved up friends.

Youngjae cackled loudly once more jumping up and down excitedly whilst Jackson threw himself onto the floor dramatically playing dead, Yugyeom watched as Jaebeom’s eyes followed the other and he let out a low disapproving growl as the other two men rolled around the floor giggling madly. “Ya! Just go tell him your sorry and have sex in the guest room or something!” Yugyeom scolded smacking Jaebeom in the shoulder, Jaebeom flinched spilling his drink all over his lap as he stared up at Yugyeom with shocked eyes, his expression frozen. “Well now you have an excuse to go into the guest room” Yugyeom shrugged, grinning cheekily as he waved down Youngjae.

The two giggling children appeared, Youngjae took one look at Jaebeom and his demeanour changed in a heartbeat, going into loving partner mode. He snatched up some napkins off of the table and began dabbing at his leg incessantly, “It’s not a gun shot wound!” Jaebeom scolded flapping Youngjae’s hands away from him sulkily. “Shut up and let me take care of you” Youngjae demanded grabbing hold of his hand and tugging him off the chair with ease, “I’d do what he says!” Jackson said raising an eyebrow as he dropped down into Yugyeom’s lap, Jaebeom glared at him once more for good measure before sighing as he allowed Youngjae to lead him away. They watched as Youngjae dragged him off into the back bedroom slamming the door behind them.

“Gross” Jackson murmured nuzzling into Yugyeom’s neck, “Yeah… but its your house not mine so I don’t care” Yugyeom grunted supressing a light giggle as he downed another drink. “Ew no!” Jackson whined slapping at Yugyeom’s arm gently, “I meant them in general now I’m worried about the state of my guest room…” he said grimacing as Yugyeom laughed hysterically, the alcohol finally numbing his brain and heart. “Their love is gross too” Yugyeom shrugged, patting Jackson on the shoulder. “They’re just too perfect for each other, ya’know?” he hummed as he got to his feet stretching wide, “Hey Mark!” he bellowed over the music that had suddenly gotten louder disappearing across the room quickly.

Yugyeom let out a sigh taking this as another chance to slope off into the kitchen and get yet another drink, he hopped onto the counter with ease scrolling through his twitter feed, hundreds of people talking about how ‘2021 will be our year!’, he let out a huff, that worked out so well for 2020 didn’t it? Part of him wanted to scold them, to tell them off for jinxing it but he knew they were just excited, looking forward to a new year, a year that will hopefully give us normal life back. Just as he was beginning to feel a little less… cynical, Bambam entered, his mascara running down his beautiful cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Yugyeom gasped, feeling like a broken record as he threw himself off the counter a little too fast, he wobbled, his ankles giving way as he fell to the ground in a heap of aching limbs. Bambam dropped to the ground beside him, eyes still red and puffy as he stared up at him in confusion “You ok?” he asked genuinely, in a way that made Yugyeom’s heart ache. How do you tell your best friend that you are bitter and jealous of his relationship? That seeming him upset just fuels your pain, you can’t and so Yugyeom didn’t.

“Just a bit tipsy” he giggled brightly, running a hand through his hair distractedly as he took Bam’s hand in an attempt to get up, his whole body shook as he stumbled and fell back onto the ground, his ankle throbbing painfully. Yugyeom shrugged as he attempted to make himself comfortable on the floor, “What’s wrong?” he asked again, letting Bambam curl up into his lap, his back pressed against the cold kitchen cabinets. “James sent me a picture of his cat” Bambam sniffled and Yugyeom let out a heavy sigh, “Just call him or something! It’s ok to want to be with him” Yugyeom said patting him on the shoulder reassuringly, “I just miss him so much” Bambam wailed still sobbing quietly into Yugyeom’s chest. The beaded curtain jingled as a pair of feet strolled up to the fridge pulling out a bottle of beer, Yugyeom felt Bambam tense as he fell silent, he hated being vulnerable and he hated people seeing him cry.

As if he sensed their presence Mark swivelled on the spot eyes locking onto Yugyeom’s, he let out a defeated shrug holding Bambam closer to his chest. Mark sighed, retrieving another two bottles of beer out of the fridge before dropping to the floor beside Yugyeom. “You two look like you need a drink” he said tapping the bottles into Yugyeom’s knee, he took them gratefully watching cautiously as Bam sat up taking the glass bottle as if it was a cure-all. “Next time you decided to hide from the couples, invite me please” Mark laughed, if he could see the tell-tale signs of crying on Bam’s face he ignored them completely, “I hate fifth wheeling” he groaned taking a gulp if his beer before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. “At least you two have someone, somewhere” Yugyeom retorted, the bitter taste of his words burning the back of his throat as Bam squeezed his hand tightly.

“Being single would hurt less than this” Bam said through a shaky breath as he copied Mark letting the room fall into an eerie quiet. Yugyeom wanted to bang his head against the wall, the way Youngjae had just an hour earlier, to ease the need to scream, shout and cry. Anything to remove the heavy weight that sat on his chest, Mark spoke first causing him to flinch, “Nah man… you should be grateful you have someone to miss, it’s better than having nothing” Mark said, his voice so calm and soothing, as it always was. Mark was always the voice of the reason, no matter who it was arguing he always knew what to say and that’s because he was an observer. What most people ignored as shyness or rudeness was actually one of Mark’s most precious traits, he watches. He notices how people talk, how they act and reacts to even the smallest changes in their mannerisms. He is always by your side offering support before you’ve even admitted to yourself you needed it.

“Maybe you’re right…” Bambam said clutching Yugyeom’s hand and giving it a tight squeeze, “At least we always have each other” he murmured snuggling back into Yugyeom’s shoulder as he started playing on his phone. “Seven or nothing” Mark replied, reminding Yugyeom of their college days when they had made a drunken pact to stay friends forever, it’s strange how life works. Realistically emotions and connections are fleeting, and no one can promise forever… yet here they were nearly ten years later all closer than ever. “When the ball drops can I be with you two?” Mark asked, his voice soft and husky as if he was holding something back but Yugyeom was too shy to press him, “Of course you can” Bambam answered before Yugyeom could overthink things too much.

“Thanks” Mark sighed with relief letting his head fall onto Yugyeom’s shoulder, “I love you guys” Bam slurred as he snuggled closer to Yugyeom on the other side. He grinned to himself, maybe the new year wouldn’t be so bad after all, he had great friends. “Seriously?” a pompous voice rolled over him in waves as he dragged his bleary eyes open, “I have three bedrooms and you’re passed out on my kitchen floor” Jinyoung said with mock insult as he bent down coming eye to eye with Yugyeom. “Hadn’t… planned… to… sleep” Mark yawned beside him, sitting forward and stretching wide, “Come on, it’s nearly midnight” Jinyoung said rolling his eyes as he practically lifted Bambam off of the ground.

Yugyeom let out a hefty sigh as he collected his bottle off the floor, stumbling towards the fridge on an aching ankle to grab a fresh drink. As soon as the cap popped off Mark’s hand shot out nabbing the bottle with the swiftness of a ninja, “What?” Yugyeom gasped blinking in confusion as Mark giggled wildly behind him, “Thanks Yugs” he said between gasps of breath as he made his way back out into the front room. After getting himself _another_ drink he entered the front room, Jaebeom and Youngjae had made up and were snuggled on the sofa together, chatting away as if they were in their own little world, which they often were. Jackson and Jinyoung were shuffling round like parents, fixing snacks and decorations whilst trying to find the right tv channel to watch the countdown. “Ah! Bambam-ah!” Youngjae suddenly yelped jumping up from his seat, “I have a surprise for you!” he beamed, his grin large enough to split his face in two. As if on cue the iPad beside him began to ring and he held it up, James’ face filled the screen and he held up a small ginger cat as he waved excitedly.

Bambam let out a strangled yelp, half happiness half tears as he rushed forward tears spilling down his face once again. Youngjae held out the iPad excitedly and Bambam took it carefully, as if they were exchanging a new born baby, he disappeared into the other room in a flash grinning madly and Yugyeom felt the usual sting of jealousy in his heart as he sloped off to pour himself a stronger drink. “Hey” Mark said his voice smooth like honey as he wrapped his arms around Yugyeom’s waist, snuggling his body perfectly into the curve of his back. “Hi” Yugyeom whined through gritted teeth as he sipped something that tasted bitter and burnt the back of his throat, an ample punishment for not being happy for his best friend.

“I’m jealous of them too, you know… it’s ok” Mark said softly and Yugyeom felt his breathing hitch, goddammit Mark, not now he pleaded internally. “At least you have someone, _something_ ” Yugyeom snapped back miserably, finally dropping the mask of false happiness, it was pointless to try and act around Mark he always saw through the façade anyway. “You’re right…I did… Minhyuk broke it off with me a few months ago actually” Mark sighed, and Yugyeom felt his grip tighten momentarily. Then came the wave of disappointment and self-loathing Yugyeom had been battling with, this time stronger, he turned on the spot throwing his arms around Mark’s neck, “Mark, I didn’t… I wouldn’t have… I’m sorry” he said hanging his head in shame.

“Hey! Hey!” Mark said, his voice thin with panic, “I’m not scolding you!” he chuckled, little pointed teeth peeking out as he smiled. “I’m just saying… you’re not alone” Mark said giving him a tight squeeze before releasing him and stepping back, “You don’t have to feel guilty, they don’t exactly feel guilty for flaunting their happy love lives in front of us, do they?” he said gesturing to the lavish apartment around them. “No, I guess not… but they’re our friends, we’re meant to want the best for them” Yugyeom said, staring at his shoes as he shuffled awkwardly, it seemed reasonable to be bitter in his head but when he said it out loud he just felt like a petulant child. “Wanting what they have doesn’t cancel out being happy for them, those things can co-exist you know” Mark admitted with a shrug as he stared out into the front room longingly.

“Yeah… I guess they can” He admitted, finally feeling like the crushing weight on his chest had been lifted, even if it were just ever so slightly. “Come on, you promised to be my midnight buddy” Mark giggled sweetly linking their arms as he dragged Yugyeom back into the front room. Jackson was handing out gaudy black party hats with ‘2021’ written on them in glitter which Yugyeom took excitedly as he leant on the back of the sofa, as if on queue Bambam reappeared in the corner still focused on the iPad but at least he was in the same room as them now. “It’s starting!” Jackson screamed dramatically as he hopped onto Jinyoung’s lap, Mark appeared next to Yugyeom, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“This is it!” Youngjae announced and the room fell silent. Jaebeom flicked the light off as the countdown began, they all chanted along loudly, as if counting in the new year was more effective than sleeping through it.

_10._

_9._

_8._

_7._

_6._

_5._

_4._

_3._

Yugyeom turned on his heel to look at Mark, smiling genuinely for the first time all night. He looked sweet with the glow of the tv making his eyes shine, making him look almost angelic. Mark took his other hand staring straight back into his eyes, the way Mark looked at him made him feel, _seen,_ understood.

_2._

_1._

The others cheered loudly as fireworks began to explode in shimmers of red, gold and blue on the screen. Yugyeom however was frozen solid, drowning in the feeling of Mark’s lips pressed against his, the slight taste of strawberry lip balm mixed with beer intoxicating him. “Happy New Year” he gasped desperately against Mark’s lips, leaning his forehead against the others. “Happy New Year” Mark replied, grinning devilishly before pressing their lips together once more. “Oh fucking finally!” Jackson’s voice rung out causing them to jerk apart blushing madly like naughty teenagers, Mark dropped down from his tip toes snuggling himself into Yugyeom’s chest. “Finally?” Yugyeom quiered as Mark shrugged innocently, “He’s just excited for 2021” Mark lied and Yugyeom couldn’t help but smile fuelled by adrenaline and alcohol.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year everyone! This came out a little bit more angsty than I thought but I really wanted to focus on the negative emotions so that the end was a happy little twist, I don't think it worked as well as I hoped but I hope you enjoy it all the same!


End file.
